Battery modules, such as in particular battery modules designed as energy stores for the drive of hybrid, plug-in hybrid or electric vehicles, usually comprise a plurality of battery cells, wherein the battery cells each have a negative electrode and a positive electrode. For the purpose of making electrically conductive contact with the battery cells, the latter usually have a first cell terminal, which is electrically conductively connected to the negative electrode of a battery cell, and a second cell terminal, which is electrically conductively connected to the positive electrode of a battery cell. The battery cells are electrically connected to one another via the cell terminals using so-called cell connectors, which are used as contact-making elements, to form a battery module.
Various connection types for connecting the battery cells or the battery modules are known. In particular, the cell connectors and the cell terminals can be configured such that they can be screwed to one another, or such that the cell connectors can be screwed onto the cell terminals. As an alternative to a screw connection, an electrically conductive connection of the battery cells can be produced by soldering cell connectors to the cell terminals of the battery cells. A solder connection advantageously usually has, in contrast to a screw connection, a lower electrical contact resistance and enables a permanently stable connection of cell connector and cell terminal. In general, metal strips are used as cell connectors, in particular for the electrically conductive connection of cell terminals of prismatic battery cells, wherein two adjacent cell terminals are connected by means of such a cell connector.
Cell connectors with which an electrically conductive connection can be produced between battery cell terminals are known, for example, from the document DE 10 2010 030 809 A1. The cell connectors in this case comprise at least two connecting sections composed of different electrically conductive metal materials.
Provision is made, in particular, that one connecting section is composed of copper and one connecting section is composed of aluminum.
Furthermore, the connection of groups of battery cells by means of a plurality of cell connector flat conductors is known from the document DE 10 2010 043 885 A1, wherein a cell connector flat conductor connects more than two cell terminals of battery cells to one another.
What is disadvantageous in the case of cell connectors known hitherto is that said cell connectors electrically conductively connect a group of battery cell terminal to one another, with the result that each cell terminal of said group is electrically conductively connected to every other cell terminal of said group. Therefore, in the case of an electrical connection of battery cells to form a battery module, a multiplicity of cell connectors is usually required since, in general, not all cell terminals of a battery module may make electrically conductive contact with one another. The use of a multiplicity of cell connectors goes against the endeavor to reduce the number of components, in particular to simplify handling.
Against this background, it is an object of the disclosure to provide a cell connector which advantageously reduces the number of cell connectors necessary for electrically connecting battery cells, in particular prismatic battery cells, such that a single, preferably integrally designed, cell connector is sufficient to electrically connect a plurality of battery cells.